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On Saturday night I had my first documented paranormal experience. Yes, it was fun. But it was also a bit spooky. It didn’t happen at a live show, but still, what I captured on my camera got me thinking more about how the unseen plays a bigger role in our concert experiences that we may realize.

I’ll start by saying that I am a naturally very curious person. I am also a person who loves facts and leans toward the journalistic and skeptical side of storytelling when I’m looking to find truth and meaning in this crazy world.

But I’m not a skeptic in the negative way. I like to think that my skepticism fuels my curiosity and leads me to experience things that I otherwise wouldn’t or couldn’t.

I’ll tell you more about that picture above in just a moment.

The Sci-Fi Cafe Back Story

But first let me bring you up to speed on the back story of what lead to that moment captured in the photo above. And then I’ll tell you why I think there’s a connection

Last night Colleen and I went to Burlington, WI for a Haunted Woods tour hosted by Mary Sutherland. We first meet Mary when we stumbled upon her very unique and creative Sci-fi Cafe in downtown Burlington.

During our first visit we had a great chat with Mary as she told us about her research and writings about the paranormal and various otherworldly occurrences in Burlington and beyond.

And as we walked around the store we came across a fantastic book called The Music of Time by Preston Nichols. I hadn’t heard of Nichols before I saw the book. But to be honest, the book has been an amazing read as it documents Nichols innovating and provocative work as an engineer and expert in parapsychology in the music industry as it coincided with his involvement with the Montauk Project.

We’ll be diving into more of the wonders and mind-blowing stories shared in The Music of Time on future posts and Live Fix podcasts.

And since we had such a great time a couple weeks ago during that first visit to the Sci-Fi Cafe, and we’ve enjoyed exploring paranormal activity at concert venues and other fun Chicago music tours recently, we decided to voyage back to Burlington and go on Mary’s Haunted Woods tour to see what it was like.

What’s Lurking in the Picture?

Good question. Well, as Mary led us through the dark and mysterious woods, we stopped at this one place along the way.

At this spot she explained that the area just ahead of us was “…a time portal or a vortex…” where other previous tourgoers had witnessed paranormal occurrences.

So, naturally, I was super curious and started snapping pictures and taking video to see if I could capture anything.

Again, I do believe that the paranormal and spiritual world are both real things. It’s almost impossible not to believe in them as I’ve come to learn how complex our minds and bodies are, and how, as humans, whether you’re in tune with it our not, our spirituality is a vital part of our everyday existence.

So as I snapped my pictures, I glanced down as each image appeared on my camera’s viewfinder and I was instantly startled at the image I saw looking back at me.

As you can see in the picture above I was able to capture a large distinguishable face that was apparently right there in front of us, but invisible to the naked eye.

And when I saw what I had captured, I immediately showed it to Colleen and the others on the tour and they were all equally amazed.

In case you’re wondering, no, I didn’t Photoshop the photo in any way. The image is exactly as it was the second after I snapped it. And if you look at it more, the image becomes even more apparent when you step back and look at it from afar.

And even as I write this post, I’m still not sure what it was that I saw, but I know it wasn’t just something I could shrug off or deny. And in writing this post, I can’t help but wondering who or what I had captured, and if there was a bigger significance to the image and that night. I know I haven’t explained the live music part of the story completely yet, but I will in just a moment.

What Happened After the Tour?

After the tour, we all went back to the Sci-Fi Cafe and reviewed our pictures. And we all talked about the image that I had captured.

One of the other tourgoers had told me that the face in the image could possibly be a Native American Indian coming back to visit us since the sight has Native American roots.

Others suggested that it was another time traveler coming to say hi again.

Others just shook their head, and like me, stared at the picture with an eerie tingling going up our spines as a sense of creepy awe and puzzling mystery ran through our minds.

Why Am I Sharing This Story With You?

Another good question. And I’ll answer it by telling you this.

During our chat back at the Sci-Fi cafe, I asked Mary about whether or not it’s possible that similar images could be captured at a concert. Was it possible that concert fans could feel the same energy and emotions that we felt during the tour at live show?

She immediately said yes and that she had actually seen pictures of live concerts with hundreds of orbs and similar images floating above the crowd.

She also said that, because the live music experience is a highly emotional and energy-filled experience, seeing orbs or feeling the presence of spirits and other paranormal activity makes complete sense.

Naturally, I was amazed at this and knew it was a topic we had to explore more on Live Fix.

And I have to be honest and tell you that seeing that image and being in those woods when it happened made me think of my mortality and the feelings I’ve had during a concert when the music and lyrics are just right and I feel like crying or weeping in sadness or complete joy because the moment has triggered a distant or stuffed down emotion of grief, loss or happiness.

That said, I wonder what would we see if we were able to experience more “unseen” moments during concerts.

What if, when we’re all grieving and experiencing joy and community during a live music experience, we all had our eyes opened and our heart flung wide to be able to see beyond just the musical experience and feeling something deeply spiritual and life-changing?

And would having the chance to see such an image or feel the connection or presence of our passed on family and friends at a live show, help us cope better, and more profoundly, with the grief and loss? And would having this group experience also bring concert fans closer together?

All this from one peculiar picture? Yep.

And I think there’s more that I’ll continue to discover as the days go by. And I’ll love to hear what you think too.

One Last Thing…

What I also enjoyed about the tour was the chance to talk with the other tourgoers about their experience, which is something I often don’t get to do with the hundreds of other concert fans with whom I share such deep emotional experiences with.

Maybe that will change some day, and hopefully through Live Fix, we can begin to find a way for more concert fans to share their experiences and build a stronger sense of community.

Okay, that wraps us the story behind the strange picture above.

I want to thank everybody else who was on the tour with us. It was fun time voyaging through the woods and it’s an experience that I will remember for long long time. And stay tuned as we invite Mary on Live Fix Radio to talk more about the paranormal and spiritual world at concerts.

Let’s Hear From You!

If you’ve ever had a similar experience at a show or seen a connection like this between live music and the spiritual world, drop a comment below. We’d love to hear about your concert story and how the experience has changed your life.